Dealing With the Spirit of Fear, part 1

The spirit of fear operating in the human life will choke out the fruit of God’s Word.

Second Timothy 1:7 says that God has not given us a spirit of fear. That means if you are touched by fear, which is often evidenced by worry, anxiety, and cares—it’s not from the Lord. Identify that fear and eliminate it from your life—for if you allow it to stay, it will choke out the fruit of God’s Word.

How do you get rid of fear? Well, 1 John 4:18 tells us that the spiritual antidote for fear is love: “There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear.”

The Greek word is agape. It’s not the feeling of love or affection, but it is the act of love. It is the willingness to give. The love of God gives. This is described best for us in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave….”

When we are filled with love, the antidote to fear, we will give to other people, just as God demonstrated for us. Our lives will become resources to meet other people’s need. When that happens, there is no place for fear in your life because perfect love casts out fear.

Think about it this way: when you’re concerned about somebody else instead of yourself, fear doesn’t have a foothold because fear is rooted in self-interest. When you’re worried about yourself, the Devil has something to work with to make you afraid: “Well, what if you don’t get healed?” “What if I can’t pay my bills?” Where there is self-concern, there is a foothold for fear. When you begin to concern yourself with other people, there is no place for fear in your life.

So how then do we become filled, perfected, or matured in love? That’s a great question, and I will begin to answer it in my next post.

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About Mac Hammond

Mac Hammond is senior pastor of Living Word Christian Center, a nondenominational church located in Brooklyn Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. Pastor Hammond also hosts the Winner's Minute and the Winner's Way television broadcasts and has authored several internationally distributed books . Mac Hammond is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.
Mac Hammond graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1965 with a Bachelor's degree in English. Upon graduation, he entered the Air Force with a regular officer's commission and reported for pilot training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. Mac received his wings in November 1966, and subsequently served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia, accumulating 198 combat missions. He was honorably discharged in 1970 with the rank of Captain.
Between 1970 and 1980, Mac was involved in varying capacities in the general aviation industry including ownership of a successful air cargo business serving the Midwestern United States. A business acquisition brought Mac and his wife Lynne Hammond to Minneapolis where they ultimately founded Living Word Christian Center in 1980.

Mac Hammond

Mac Hammond is senior pastor of Living Word Christian Center, a nondenominational church located in Brooklyn Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. Pastor Mac Hammond also hosts the Winner's Way television broadcast and has authored several internationally distributed books. Mac Hammond is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.